Jon Heyman of CBS Sports reports that the San Francisco Giants have acquired Hunter Pence from the Philadelphia Phillies while Tim Brown of Yahoo! Sports reports that the Phillies have traded outfielder Shane Victorino to the Dodgers for right-handers Josh Lindblom and Ethan Martin.

Two major deals and the Philadelphia Phillies might not be done just yet.

In dealing Victorino, the Phillies get back a good bullpen arm in Lindblom. The 25-year-old right-hander has a 3.02 ERA and 43/18 K/BB ratio over 47 2/3 innings of relief this season. Martin was the Los Angeles Dodgers first-round pick in 2008 and has maybe the highest ceiling among Dodgers pitching prospects.

Overall, reports are that the Phillies did pretty well in the deal for Victorino.

Tommy Joseph is headed to the Phillies basseball club as part of the Hunter Pence deal, according to CBS Sports’ Danny Knobler. He was the San Francisco Giants’ second-round pick in 2009 and is currently playing at the Double-A level. He played in the Futures Game this season and just turned 21. Pegged as San Francisco’s fifth-best prospect by MLB.com, Joseph hit .260 with 8 HR and 38 RBI at Richmond prior to the proposed deal.

He could eventually replace Carlos Ruiz as the Philadelphia Phillies catcher after the 2013 season.

With the trade deadline just a few hours away, the Arizona Diamondbacks are looking to acquire an ace pitcher.

The Diamondbacks may have discussed a deal with the Philadelphia Phillies involving Cliff Lee and Justin Upton, according to FoxSports.com’s Ken Rosenthal. Felix Hernandez could also be on the D-Backs’ radar. It’s unclear whether either player is available, however. The Mariners front office has been adamant about keeping Hernandez, and Arizona Diamondbacks owner Ken Kendrick recently said there was a good chance Upton will remain with the team through the deadline. CBSSports.com’s Jon Heyman checked with Seattle Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik, who said he hasn’t changed his mind about trading Hernandez.

The Philadelphia Phillies willingness to trade Cliff Lee, and the Red Sox willingness to deal Josh Beckett shows how much each team wants to restructure their finances, according to the New York Post’s Joel Sherman. Sherman also notes that the New York Yankees are unlikely to make a big move. Read the rest of this entry »

The Philadelphia Phillies have faxed Joe Blanton’s medical records to the Baltimore Orioles‘ team orthopedist, a potential first step in approving a trade, Roch Kubatko of MASN reported Monday.

Blanton is in the final year of a three-year, $24 million contract and with the Phillies 16.5 games out of the NL East race holds value only as a trade chip. He has struggled with the home run ball this season, allowing 22 in 20 starts, the main factor behind his 4.59 ERA. Still, a fantastic 118:15 K:BB ratio gives teams like the Orioles reason to hope.

Joe Blanton has struggled with elbow injuries recently, making multiple trips to the disabled list in 2011 with right elbow inflammation.

Sixers Lose Williams; Add Scoring Guard Young

Lou Williams will not return to the Sixers after they agreed to sign guard Nick Young to a one-year deal.

“Philly, I appreciate you all. Unfortunately I will not be coming back … they decided to move in a different direction,” Williams posted on Twitter Friday afternoon.

In his place, the Sixers bring in free agent shooting guard Nick Young who at 6-7 averaged 14.2 points and he can shoot from the outside and score.

Young could serve as a scorer off the bench to replace Williams as the top scoring threat off-the-bench or move into the starting lineup at shooting guard to replace Evan Turner. The Sixers like the size he brings to the shooting guard spot.

Overall, I like this move much like I endorsed the Sixers replacing Williams with Jamal Crawford (who went to the Clippers). The Sixers needed more size and adding Young gives the them a big guard who can score 14-17 points per game.

PCPTAKE: Significance here is a one year deal for Young. Sixers seem to get that 2013 will be the year they can shed salary and finally make a move in free agency and are doing what it takes to position themselves to be players in next year’s market.